Pl. Rynok, 37 – former Grosvaierivska/ Groswajerowska townhouse
History
The original name of the brick townhouse at #37 – the Groswajerska, or Groswajer Manor – is taken from the surname of its owner, the physician, and Lviv burgomaster (mayor) in 1638, Martin Groswajer. The name stuck, and later when the building was acquired by the wealthy Austrian cloth and wine merchant Ter-Zakharjasevych family, it acquired the further moniker of Angelkamy (perhaps, Angel Stone). The Ter-Zakharjasevyches were the founders of the Holy Trinity Fraternity at the city’s Armenian Cathedral.
The structure was rebuilt in the 19th century with – 1890 – a three-story workshop added in the rear of the lot and a fourth story extension to the main building. 1923 saw the remodeling of the interiors and front and back façades, as well as a fourth story added to the workshop.
In 1985, the first floor and basement levels underwent remodeling and restoration in order to house the Vesna shop. In recent years, the Art-11 Gallery calls the first floor home.
Groswajer Manor was registered as national architectural monument of urban development as decreed by the Ukrainian Soviet Republic Council of Ministers, 24 August 1963, Decree № 970, 326/34.
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Architecture
The Manor occupies a lot among the buildings lining the north perimeter of Lviv’s Market Square. The main structure is comprised of an elongated with lateral and a separate rear wing and internal courtyard. Reconstruction projects and stylish updates during the 18th-19th centuries changed the building’s original appearance, including that of its ancient triple-bayed layout which characterized Lviv Renaissance-era construction.
The main structure is of four stories and four vertical segments split on the horizontal by inter-story cornice work. Pilasters on the upper floors accent the vertical line of the structure. The first floor façade features a voussoir arch recessed window and entrance portal ensemble. Third floor windows are topped with doubled triangular pediments. The façade is topped with a stylized entablature, raised cornice with corbels and dentils, and rosette and garland frieze.
The building evidences certain details in its construction typical of early Market Square architecture, including its first-floor, 18th century brickwork, though, in general the exterior of the structure dates from the period of historicism.
Personalities
Martin Groswajer – physician, philosopher, city councillor, Lviv burgomaster
Sources
- Catalogue of 17th-20th Century Engraving from the V. Stephanyk Lviv Research Library Foundation of the Ukrainian SSR. Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 1989.
- Charewiczowa Ł. Czarna kamienica i jej mieszkańcy: Z 33 ilustracjami w tekscie (The Black Manor and its Inhabitants, with 33 illustrations). Lwów: 1935. Reissued, 1990. (Polish)
- Kapral, M. Native Assemblies in Lviv of the 16th-18th centuries (civil and legal interrelations) Lviv: Piramida, 2003.
- Melnyk, B. On the Streets of Old Lviv. Lviv: Svit, 2001.
- Scientific-Technical Archive, "Ukrzakhidproektrestavratsia" Institute (UZPR): Architectural Monuments of the 18th century. Residential Building #37 on Market Square, Lviv. Preliminary drawings.
- Zubrytskyi, D. Lviv Chronicle. Lviv: Center of Europe, 2006.